


Survival (Sometimes Means Working With The Enemy)

by jedipati



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Horror, The Force, Working with the Enemy, Zombies, another fine mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22038946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedipati/pseuds/jedipati
Summary: Luke wasn't sure what the creatures were, but the small band of Rebel and Imperial survivors he was leading wouldn't survive if they didn't get off this planet soon...
Comments: 42
Kudos: 308
Collections: 2019 Star Wars Secret Santa





	Survival (Sometimes Means Working With The Enemy)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mokulule](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mokulule/gifts).



> Hello! Merry Christmas, and may you have a wonderful New Year!
> 
> And no, I have no idea why this is what your request sparked into being. But enjoy!

Luke Skywalker hadn’t slept for three days. No one had. Three days ago, they’d crash landed on this absolutely horrific world, and had been trying to survive every since. So, when they found a small cave that Luke was fairly certain was safe, they’d all piled in and set up a rotation of guards.

“They” of course, was part of the problem.

Luke had had his small team with him- Wedge Antilles was the only other survivor now- but they’d dropped nearly on top of a crashed Imperial shuttle, and there were three Imperial survivors at this point.

Firmus Piett groaned as he dropped to sit next to Luke. He was the ranking survivor, of both the Rebels and the Imperials, being a Captain, but Luke was the one nominally in charge thanks to the fact that he was the only one who could warn them away from treacherous routes.

Wedge was taking his turn at guard duty, and Zev Veers dropped down on Piett’s other side. The other imperial survivor was a storm trooper- a clone who called himself Cody and wouldn’t stop giving Luke weird looks.

Cody was sitting across from Luke and, once again, staring at Luke.

Luke sighed. “What is it, Commander Cody?” he finally asked.

Piett and Veers both looked at him.

Cody merely smiled. “Your lightsaber. You’re related to Anakin Skywalker, aren’t you?”

Luke nodded. “I am. He was my father, but I never met him.”

Piett winced and Luke sent him a wry grin. Anakin Skywalker was still a well-known name in the galaxy, even nearly twenty two years after he died. And the fact that, though the galaxy agreed he’d died in the Jedi purges, but the theories on how were as varied as the inhabitants in the galaxy. Some even said he wasn’t dead, merely hiding, but Luke knew his father would have been there if he’d been alive.

“He was a good man,” Cody offered. “A good leader.”

Luke tried very hard not to react to that, but… “Of course. You were a clone trooper during the Wars. Did you ever work with him?”

Cody nodded. “Him, his master, and his Padawan. I…”

“I won’t ask for stories,” Luke said as he hesitated. “Not in this situation.”

Cody relaxed. “You’re less polished, but you seem like you’re as good a leader as he was.”

Luke smiled in thanks, and resolutely turned his attention away from the older man. “Wedge, wake me in four hours, I’ll take a turn then,” he called. “I’ll wake Veers four hours after, then Cody, then Piett. The… whatever they are shouldn’t be able to get here, but we need to keep a watch going. And we need to sleep. Four hour shifts, we’ll run through the watch twice so every gets enough sleep. Then we’ll start planning how to get off this hell-planet.”

The chance to rest was needed. Desperately. Luke knew, in the way that meant it was the Force talking to him, that if they didn’t rest, they wouldn’t survive to escape.

Everyone nodded and Luke settled in to get some sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Thankfully, Luke was on his second watch when the creatures found a way to attack. His warning meant that everyone was ready before they actually reached the mouth of the cave.

The twenty six hours of rest helped everyone’s aim, and had given their blasters a chance to recharge.

They had a fortified position, with a small stream of water, and plenty of rations.

Things were looking much better than they had before they’d found the cave.

Still, these creatures were hard to fight, and they felt… wrong in the Force. Luke winced as he shot one through the head- this one was wearing a Rebel flight suit, and he really didn’t want to think about it.

Beside him, Zev Veers had just hit one that still had a Stormtrooper helmet on. “How many more?” he asked Luke.

Luke frowned. He’d had too much practice at counting opponents since the crashes. “Three more,” he called out.

The one that Wedge shot still had a blaster, but it didn’t even try to use the thing. “Cover me, I’m going to have to concentrate,” he warned Veers.

Veers glanced at him but nodded. Luke reached out into the Force and began to pry the blaster away from the dead creature’s hands. He would not think about why this creature had a blaster in the first place. He would not.

The blaster shifted, broke free of the creature’s hands, and managed a few feet closer before dropping to the ground. Luke grit his teeth and focused again, ignoring the last of the fight around him. The last of the current group of creatures was dead, it was safe enough for him to…

The blaster leapt off the ground and landed in his outstretched hand.

Luke let out a deep breath. “Good,” he said. “Another blaster never hurts.” He tried not to think about how he knew whose blaster this had been.

Veers stared at him. Luke would have thought that he’d be used to Luke’s abilities by now. “Captain,” Luke called out, holding up the blaster as Piett looked at him. Piett smiled, because he’d only had his officer’s pistol before now and took the more powerful rifle gratefully. 

“Thank you, Skywalker,” he said.

Luke nodded and looked out at the dead creatures. “There’ll be more,” he said. He knew it, down in his bones. More of these creatures would come. They wanted him. They wanted his companions. 

The creatures wanted them to join their ranks, just like the rest of the crash survivors. 

That was the worst part of it. Luke could feel it when the creatures captured someone else, could feel the corruption take hold, and feel it when the infection- and that was not the right term, but it was the only one Luke had- won. And that was at a remove. Luke didn’t want to feel it happen to himself.

The creatures they had just killed had been their comrades once. “I don’t think I can do this anymore,” Veers whispered. “I just killed Ferrens.”

“You didn’t kill him,” Luke said, almost as quietly. “Trust me, you freed him. I could feel it. Those creatures, when they die… they’re happy. They want to die, all of them, but they can’t.” Luke swallowed. “It’s… awful, and whatever this is, it’s far worse than anything I’ve ever felt before.”

Luke slid over and gently put his hand on Veer’s shoulder. “It’s hard, but it’s like…” he sighed. “The… infection, it takes over their minds and they have to do what the infection says. But they’re still in there, and they want to be freed.”

Veers smiled wanly. “That’s horrifying,” he said.

Luke nodded. “It really, really is, and when we get out of here I’m going to have nightmares for months. I almost wish I didn’t have the Force, so I didn’t have to feel it.”

Wedge gagged. “It must be bad if you’re saying that,” he remarked.

Cody sighed. “This is worse than…” he muttered something under his breath that no one wanted to try to hear. Luke couldn’t, because suddenly he was feeling something else. Like ice water poured down the back of his shirt, he knew…

The four others reacted to his reaction, starting to scan for more creatures, but that wasn’t what he’d felt.

“It’s not the creatures,” Luke said aloud. His voice sounded very far away. “It’s Vader. He’s coming.” 

Wedge swallowed, but the Imperials looked relieved. Luke glanced at Wedge. “Better to die then to face those things,” he said.

Wedge nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Just not looking forward to the torture.”

Neither was Luke, but even that would be better than the creatures.

A second later, they heard the scream of TIE fighters, then the rumble of at least three troop carriers. 

Luke narrowed his eyes. “We can’t let them land, not for long,” he said. “Or those things will attack, and more men will be lost. I don’t want that for anyone.”

“None of us have comlinks,” Cody pointed out. “Even the one in my armor is busted.”

“We run for the first shuttle to land, as soon as it lands,” Piett ordered. “Even you two,” he added to the Rebels. “They’ll be attracted to the noise, so we’ll have to hurry.”

Wedge and Luke exchanged helpless glances. Almost three years with the largest bounty in the galaxy on your head was a good run, wasn’t it? Luke closed his eyes. “He’s right. Force, I wish he wasn’t. But I know Vader won’t leave here without capturing me.”

The first carrier started to land, and the small group of survivors tensed. “Vader’s in that one, of course,” Luke muttered. “And I think he knows something is wrong.”

“You think?” Veers asked.

Luke shrugged, eyes focused on the shuttle. “It’s not like I’ve had a lot of practice at this,” he muttered. “Not with another person who can use the Force, anyway.”

The shuttle touched down, and Luke felt it. “The creatures are coming back!” He shouted. “Now! Run!”

They ran for the shuttle, even as the crawling fear the creatures induced hit them. 

Veers stumbled, but Luke pulled him up and they kept going. The ramp descended, but before any of the troops could jump out, Piett boarded. “GO!” he shouted as the other four ran up the ramp. “We have to go now!”

The assembled troopers stared at them, even as Vader turned his head toward the cockpit. Presumably, he could feel the wrongness too. Wedge and Cody had turned and were ready to fire out the ramp until it closed and the carrier lifted off. 

“My Lord, this world is infected with something,” Piett stared. “I can’t give you the particulars, but it cannot get out to the wider galaxy.”

Luke lifted his head and looked straight at Vader’s eye lenses. “He’s right,” he said. “As much as I hate to admit it. It’s… bad.”

Luke felt Vader do… something in the Force around Luke, but couldn’t tell what it was. “Very well,” Vader said. “Once we are clear, the Executor will fire on the planet, and sterilize it.”

Luke winced. He didn’t like it, but he knew there was no sentient life down there, except for the creatures. Better that then someone else landing and maybe letting the infection spread. 

“But for now…” Vader said. He lifted his comlink. “General Veers, your son was one of the survivors and is on my transport.”

“Thank you, my lord,” General Veers said. He sounded relieved.

Luke took the moment to slump down next to Wedge.

Vader turned his attention to the two Rebels. “You didn’t hesitate to run toward this carrier,” Vader noted.

“Better torture and execution than… that,” Luke said, waving his hand toward the planet.

“What he said,” Wedge agreed.

Luke felt a strange displeasure from Vader at that. 

“Luke Skywalker,” Vader finally said. “What part of “alive only” means that you expect torture and death at my hands?”

Luke considered for a long moment, before going for honesty. “I’m a Force user, and I destroyed the Death Star out from under you. I figured you just wanted to do the job yourself.”

“No,” Vader said. “Your fate will be different- and far grander than you could possibly understand now.”

Luke didn’t like the sound of that.

**Author's Note:**

> I am contemplating making this a series. If I do, I'll definitely add another note. However, this story itself is complete as is.
> 
> No, I did not make up Zev Veers. He's from the old EU, an Imperial turned Rebel. And yes, he really is General Veers' (of ESB fame) son.


End file.
